


On Eachother's Team

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Zine Promos [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Boggarts, Character Study, Kaiba Seto Has Issues, M/M, Magic, Tournaments, zine promo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Seto balks at the idea of "working together" to win a small tournament Hogwarts is hosting, even if Slytherins are atleast supposed to have loyalty to their own, Seto only has loyalty to himself....Or so he says
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto
Series: Zine Promos [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551694
Kudos: 17





	On Eachother's Team

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a promo for the Yugioh magic zine- "Hocus Pocus!" https://ygomagiczine.tumblr.com/

For as long as he can remember, Head Mistress McGonogal had preached about not only house unity, but also school unity

Despite keeping the centuries long traditions of the House Cup and quidditch matches, McGonogal had always tried to push for the houses to be united, for students to recognize the value in eachother, past their own interhouse loyalties

Wich is why it surprised him so much to hear her latest announcement

"We'll be holding a school wide tournament beginning Monday and lasting for the next four weeks, each house will have the potential to earn up to seven hundred house points by the end of it,"

According to McGonogal, each year of students would compete in three challenges specifically designed to be on level with their skills- potions, spells, and one mystery challenge

Each house would earn points based on where they placed in each individual challenge at the end of the competition whatever house had the most would earn one hundred house points, meaning that if any house won in all seven years, they would get the full seven hundred awarded to them

"The Triwizard Tournament has been disbanded," she had continued

"After much discussion, we've decided this may be a suitable replacement to encourage healthy competition and best evaluate the student body's skill level in full, but not to worry, the heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are in discussion with us to hold a different event gathering in the future,"

Seto had sort of stopped listening at that point, too absorbed in strategizing

The first years would perform first and the seventh years last, so he had a few weeks to cram more studying and practice in before the competition began

Not knowing what the competitions would entail, he knew that he would need to study... well.... _everything_

"We should work together,"

Glancing up from the book in front of him, Seto's cold blue eyes met a similar but much softer shade

"Work together?" he echoed, eyebrows raised

"Sure, it's the only way we'll ensure victory, not everyone can be exceptional at everything but if we all focus on our strengths and try to help eachother with our weaknesses, I think we can make a clean sweep,"

"I can make a clean sweep myself," Seto argued, hardly in the mood to listen to the sixth year, who had the _nerve_ to roll his eyes

"Come now, surely even you don't believe that, we need to help eachother in order to win,"

"I can win on my own, what happens to the rest of you is of no consequence to me,"

"Where's your loyalty?" the silver-haired student frowned, his nose scrunching up and his long hair swaying as he leaned forward

"I think you're looking for the Hufflepuffs if you want loyalty," Seto grumbled back

He wouldn't even be surprised, the sixth year was dating a Hufflepuff

"Not so much no, don't you even know your own house's traits? Slytherins have _fraternity_ as one of our traits, meaning that we're loyal to eachother, this selfish loner attitude doesn't belong in Slytherin, it belongs in Ravenclaw, no offense to Ravenclaws ofcourse, but they're the 'in it for myself' ones, not us, we are loyal to our own house Seto Kaiba,"

"I'm plenty loyal to my house, I just don't necessarily care about the other people in it,"

The sixth year huffed, muttering something in Russian under his breath, and slid off of the table where he had perched himself earlier

"Well I can't speak for your year then, but the sixth years are banding together, and we're going to get that clean sweep,"

With that, he spun on his heel and headed back to the other gaggle of Slytherins who were chattering along about their plans, huddled in a corner like some kind of cult

Seto rolled his eyes.... but he soon realized that perhaps he shouldn't have

The sixth year was right, Slytherin _had_ made a clean sweep of the competition- the only year so far to have done so

The first year winners were Ravenclaw, the second Slytherin, third were Gryffindor, fourth- where his brother, Mokuba, studied- were Ravenclaws again- Seto had a bit of pride in his chest in that, his brother had secured that win for his own house, and even though Seto was frustrated by his house's overall lack of remarkability in winning, he was happy for his brother

The fifth year winners were Hufflepuffs, and the sixth were Slytherin

If the seventh year winners were also Slytherins, that would mean Slytherin more or less dominated the competition, even if only by a hair, a claim that only Ravenclaws had the potential to make otherwise

Well, one thing was for sure, Seto was determined to win, come hell or high water

"I'm starting to think that Viktor kid was right," Mai said with a frustrated sigh from beside him as she settled in at the potions table

"I may excel at potions but I'm worried about spells,"

"Don't be, I excel at spells," Seto noted simply as he prepared his cauldron, earning an irritated roll of eyes from Mai

"You do realize that this is a _team_ competition, right? Not a solo act?"

"Doesn't matter, I could crush the competition by myself,"

"You're hopeless," Mai huffed

But Seto didn't care, he was right and he knew it

The Draught Of Peace was hardly his favorite potion to brew, but it wasn't that difficult, not for Seto atleast, and as he had expected, his was the first correctly completed concoction, marking Slytherin as the winner of the potions challenge

Coming directly behind him in second were Yugi Muto and Ryou Bakura of Hufflepuff, the former finishing his potion right before the latter

Third was Ravenclaw, thanks to Mahaad Khalil

And to the surprise of no one, Gryffindor came in last, with only three students even managing to complete the potion at all- Atem Amir, Duke Devlin, and Allison Argent

"Brual competition," Seto noted with a small smirk as he stared down at his biggest competition

Atem's lips quirked slightly into a grin as he leaned back on his heels

"Yes, congratulations on your win, it was well deserved, but do not expect the same to happen tommorrow,"

Atem may not have been the best at potions, but in most areas he was on Seto's level, and he annoyingly never ceased to beat Seto when it came to quidditch

But Seto was still confident, even more so now that he had won the first round of competition

He was going to defeat Atem in front of the entire school and show them all that there were no doubts to be had that he and Slytherin House were the best

"You're optimistic," Seto hummed, his eyes practically glowing with competitive excitement

"But you shouldn't be,"

~+~

The second competition was to take the format of a duel- though not a traditional one

It was a little more like an all out war, with the quidditch feild being used as tournament grounds and each student having the freedom to take down anyone they wanted, so long as they stuck to only their pre-approved spells ofcourse, deviating from that list would be immediate grounds for disqualification for the entire house

Seto's hand was twitching, the eagerness to start blasting was thrumming through his veins, and he could barely keep it in

_"Begin!"_

" _Everte Statum!_ " Seto shouted, immediately managing to disarm and nock out Tristan Taylor, another Gryffindor, from the competition

" _Bulla Incantatum!_ " Yugi cast, surrounding the Hufflepuffs with bubbles

" _Incindeo!_ " Atem announced, lines of fire surrounding the Gryffindors, but that didn't last long

" _Aqua Erecto!_ " Mai was quick to supply, water starting to extinguish the flames, but it seemed that the amount of time it took for her to do so was all that Gryffindor needed

A few of them had already started to take out other houses and Atem quickly cast Fumos- a smoke screen that covered the Gryffindors before Mai could even get the flames extinguished

Damn....

Seto was willing to admit, he had slightly underestimated how well the Gryffindors worked together, but maybe he could focus on the Hufflepuffs for now...

" _Finite Incantartum!_ "

With that, the bubbles all popped, and the Hufflepuff advantage was taken away

He managed to get a few of them with Stupefy, but turned too late to see Mahaad aiming his wand at him

" _Repello Inimicum!_ "

To his surprise, Mai had come to his rescue, repelling Mahaad away from him and giving him the opportunity to lay a tripping jinx on Mana, a Hufflepuff, and disarm her before she could cast a spell on Mai

"I hope you don't expect this to be some sort of partnership," he noted as he narrowly managed to avoid an incoming hex from a Ravenclaw

"Wouldn't dream of it hon," Mai chuckled back

" _Incarcerous!_ "

Dammit!

Seto ducked as the spell was cast his way, grimacing when it ended up hitting Mai instead

"What the-!? Dammit Joey Wheeler I'm going to kill you for this!" she shouted as she was nocked to the ground, ropes binding her and keeping her from casting any other spells

"Sorry Mai!! I was aimin' it at Kaiba!"

"That was your first mistake," Seto growled

" _Everte Stat-!_ "

" _Protego!_ "

Dammit, Atem had gotten to him first, cutting off Seto's spell

"Thanks 'Tem!!" Joey shouted with releif, earning a thumb's up from the other wizard, much to Seto's annoyance

He raised his wand to cast a spell in Atem's direction, but something else caught his attention first

Another Slytherin across from him, Akefia, had started to enunciate _Serpensortia_

If he cast that spell all of Slytherin would be disqualified

Gee, and people thought _he_ had problems with house loyalty

" _Confundus!_ "

Bakura was cut off abruptly, a look of confusion on his face

" _Expelliarmous!_ " Yugi shouted, nocking the wand from Bakura's grasp

There were a few stunned and confused looks directed at him from others, but Seto wasn't going to bother stopping to explain himself

In the mean time, Mahaad had broken the sheild Atem had cast, only to be disarmed by Ryou, and then hexed by Yugi

" _Rictsempra!_ "

Mahaad toppled over, laughing uncontrollably and nocking him out of the competition

Unfortunately for the Hufflepuffs, their victory didn't last long

" _Obscuro!_ " Duke shouted, a blindfold appearing around Ryou's eyes

" _Expelliearumous!_ Sorry Ryou,"

With the Hufflepuff now having been disarmed by Atem, Seto focused his own efforts on Duke

" _Levicorpus!_ "

The Gryffindor gasped as he was lifted from the ground, a smirk on Seto's face

" _Liberacorpus!_!" Joey shouted, aided by Yugi who produced a large cushion on the ground for Duke to land on

With that distraction in place, Seto managed to disarm Joey and blast him with Aqua Erecto before sending a Stupefy at Yugi, leaving only himself and Atem to battle it out now

For a moment, they were both silent, wands raised, the two of them staring eachother down

It was going to be a close match, it was going to rely mostly on reflexes, on who could act faster and take the other off guard

But make no mistake, no small part would also be due to what kind of spells were used

There was palpable tension between the two of them, and then, seemingly at the same time-

_"Portegeo-!" "Stupefy-!"_

Seto's eyes widened, watching his spell bounce off of Atem's sheild, and before he could cast a sheild-shattering charm-

_"Expelliearmous!"_

He cursed as his wand was shot out of his hand, followed by-

_"Aqua Erecto!"_

Dammit!!!

Now on the ground and soaking wet, Seto glared up at Atem as Gryffindor was announced the winners of the match

Atem was glancing at him with.... _something_ about his expression, something akin to _wanting_ , though, wanting _what_ , Seto wasn't sure

And he wasn't going to stick around to find out either

~+~

"Why did you take out Bakura?"

Seto knew that was going to come back to bite him

Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, he glanced down at Atem, who was staring at him with curiosity and concern on his face

"He was going to cheat," he replied simply

"I despise cheaters, if you can't win within the parameters of the game then you're nothing more than a loser with a bag of tricks, you aren't a real player at all,"

"Not to mention that he would have gotten your entire house disqualified," Atem pointed out with a slight smirk

"Yes, not to mention that,"

They were lined up in front of a large hedge, wich Seto had a feeling would soon be leading them into a maze

That would seem about right, he recalled that they used something similar at the Triwizard Tournament back when Harry Potter attended school...

"If you wish to win this particular challenge, it's imparitive for you to know that things are not as they seem," McGonogal announced from where she stood in front of the hedge maze

"You will need to rely on far more than just your instincts or skills to get through this, but without further ado.... let the games begin!"

The maze opened up, and before Seto knew it, the rest of the Slytherins were gone

Actually... _everyone_ was gone, he was completely alone

No matter, he didn't need anyone else anyway

The maze was completely dark, barely any light at all seeping in through the openings, but that was hardly a problem

" _Lumos,_ " he commanded, his wand tip lighting as he started to stalk quietly through the maze

For the first few moments, nothing of interest happened, but before too long...

Seto tensed, his eyes narrowing as he watched his adoptive father step around the corner, a sickening grin on his face

" _Ridikkulus!_ "

Just as he thought, the boggart version of his adoptive father transformed into a massive puppy wearing bunny ears

"Hmph, is that really all you've got?"

Aside from the obvious reasons for suspecting a boggart, Seto knew very well that whatever the guise was, it was a fake

Gozaburo was dead, after all

Passing by the boggart easily, he kept walking, his eyes suddenly lighting on the trophy just up ahead, surely things couldn't be that easy, but-...

"Seto!!"

The Slytherin turned around, his eyebrows raising as a familiar face appeared

"This is it Atem, this is where I win," he smirked boastfully

"No, Seto, it isn't, that trophy is a fake!"

"Really? You actually think I'm foolish enough to fall for that?"

"This isn't a trick, you have my word," Atem insisted

"Why should I believe you? What makes you believe that the trophy is a fake anyway?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Atem asked quietly, his expression grim, one hand gripping his upper arm as he took a hesitant step forward

"We saw one just like it, Tea` and I, we met up a few paths over, she ran for it but the moment she touched it she collapsed, it's an illusion Seto, I'm not sure what's really there, if it's poison or... something else, but... make no mistake, that isn't the real prize, doesn't it seem too easy?"

Seto was quiet for a moment

In that respect, as much as he hated to admit it, Atem was right

It was _far_ too easy...

"Fine," he said after a moment of consideration

"Let's say I believe you, and I'm not necessarily saying that I _do_ , but if I _did_...... then what?"

"Then... we'll keep going through this maze together, until we find the others, or find our way out and end this competition, one or the other,"

" _Together_? You seem to have forgotten that you and I are on different teams, pairing up with anyone is stupid, but teaming up with an opponent is suicide,"

"I'm not going to betray you," Atem huffed with a frustrated sigh

"I have no interest in any such thing!"

"Then why are you so keen on teaming up with me, knowing that I would so quickly abandon you to acheive what I want?"

For a moment, Atem was quiet, before any hints of defiance or fight left him and he simply stood, still and quiet, and looked down at the ground

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt," he replied quietly, honestly

"I do consider you a freind Seto, I consider you _my_ freind, and I want to win this competition but not at the expense of harm befalling you, besides, I have a feeling that we have a better chance at winning this thing together than we do separately, and if we tied this round, you would still win the competition overall, wouldn't you?"

That was true, Slytherin had a first place and a second place currently, whereas Gryffindor had first and last....

"I still don't trust you," he warned

But....

Atem had a good point about the competition being too easy, maybe Seto really should reconsider...

"Fine," he finally agreed, taking a step towards Atem and narrowing his eyes

"But if you even THINK about screwing me over, what I do to you will make the three unforgivable curses look _tame_ in comparison,"

"I believe that entirely," Atem chuckled, holding his hand out for the Slytherin's

For a moment, Seto hesitated, not so sure that he should take it, but....

In the end, he slid his hand into Atem's, his heart racing a little at the sensation

Maybe he shouldn't enjoy it so much, but he did

The sensation of another person beside him- more specifically that person being Atem- was better than he could have put into words, even though Atem's hand was unusually cold

Atem had touched him before a few times, always in passing, but his hands were always warm...

Atem himself was always warm, both physically and in terms of personality

Maybe that was the thing that tipped him off

Maybe that was what made him come so quickly to the realization, once they rounded the corner and he saw Atem laying on the ground passed out, that the creature beside him wasn't really Atem

He turned instantly, watching in horror as the creature's face began to contort into something wicked and cruel

" _Stupefy!_ "

Nocking the creature back, he hurried towards the real Atem, casting a quick reviving charm and watching as Atem's eyes fluttered back into awakeness

"S-Seto...?"

"No time for questioning, whatever that thing is, it's coming back, hurry!"

"What-..? What thing?"

He didn't bother answering Atem's questions though, simply grabbing him by the arm and dragging him quickly through the maze

He wasn't sure what that particular beast was

It couldn't have been a boggart, or someone using polyjuice potion, so then what was it..?

He had never been the best with magical creatures, other than dragons, but he would have to figure it out later

The end of the maze was near, he could see a light shimmering from beyond the hedges

He ran and ran, not even stopping to speak to Atem, who kept firing questions at him, but as they hurried out of the hedge, Seto deflated, growling in frustration at the sight of Yugi and Ryou clutching the trophy

The Hufflepuffs won that round, crediting it to teamwork even when they hadn't been able to find eachother, but that was fine ~~well, it wasn't, but it wasn't the worst outcome on earth~~ as Slytherin still ultimately won the tournament, having one first place victory and two second place, their points tallied higher than Hufflepuff's, who only had one first and two thirds, and higher than Gryffindor, who only had a first, a second, and a fourth

Yet, the victory felt somewhat hollow all the same

"You seem dissatisfied,"

Ofcourse Atem would notice that

"I wanted a clean sweep," Seto grumbled back

"Mmm, and yet somehow I don't think that's what actually has you so pensive,"

"Oh yeah? Then what's your theory?"

Atem considered that for a moment, seemingly rolling it around in his head before leaning on his palm

"I suppose I don't have one, I am curious though,"

Ofcourse, the one time Seto actually had wanted him to have a theory, but...

"Well, if that's all," he said simply, rising to his feet

"Seto, wait,"

"I'd rather no-"

"Why did you help me?"

For a moment, Seto was quiet, eyebrows slowly raised

"You always preach about doing everything alone and yet in the heart of it, you chose to help me instead of simply leaving me there, even though I slowed you down, even though I could have betrayed you and won for myself, sweeping the victory,"

Seto bit the inside of his cheek, his nose wrinkling in distaste

"You're too much of a goody-two-shoes to pull off something like that," he finally replied, hesitating when he felt Atem's fingers wrap around his own

"All the same.... I find it curious, and.... I am greatfull, that you helped me,"

With that, Atem leaned up, giving him a gentle hug.... and then pressing a light kiss to his cheek

"I knew that you weren't as cold as you pretend to be,"

With that and a smirk, he ran off to congratulate Yugi, leaving Seto stunned and turning a light pink

If he was being brutally honest with himself, Seto knew exactly why he didn't just leave Atem there

He cared for Atem, even though he couldn't quite muster up the courage to say it yet, and for those few moments when he thought that the two of them were working together back in the maze.....

He had been happy

There had been something there about not feeling so alone that he actually liked

The trouble was, Seto just wasn't ready to admit that yet

Not to anyone, not even himself

But maybe....... maybe someday he could, if Atem continued on with his refusal to give up on him


End file.
